
2.
Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth, were both of the priestly
family. (See i Chron. 24: to; Luke I : 5. Abijah is called Abia
in the latter text.) Elisabeth and Mary were of blood relation-
ship. The family to which Elisabeth belonged is reckoned in the
chronology of Christ as given in Matt. I: 7; and Luke 1:36
(A. R. V.) calls Elisabeth Mary's "kinswoman," usually under-
stood to be a cousin, whether by marriage or by birth.
In I Chron. 24: 7-19, we read of the division of the sons of
Aaron into twenty-four courses. As, there were thousands of the
descendants of Aaron who were entitled to render priestly serv-
ice, this division was necessary so that all the priests might be
represented in the service of the sanctuary during the year. When
a course came up to relieve those who had served the preceding
week, the particular service of each priest was determined by
lot. Certain services were accounted more honorable than others;
and by the casting of lots, all contention was avoided. The most
honorable of all was that of going into the holy place to offer
incense upon the golden altar. And on this occasion, this distin-
guished office devolved upon the aged Zacharias.
3.
"While he [Zacharias] prays, there stands a mysterious
presence before him, on the right side of the altar, the side of
good omen, as the angels, afterwards, appeared at the right side,
in the holy sepulcher, and as Christ was seen, by the martyr
Stephen, standing on the right hand of God. No wonder he was
alarmed at such a sight, in such a place. Fear of the supernatural
is instinctive. In the history of his own nation, which Zacharias,
like every Jew, knew so well, Jacob had held it a wonder that he
had, as he believed, seen God face to face, and that his life was
preserved; Jehovah Himself had hidden Moses in a cleft of the
rock, that he might see the divine glory only after it had passed
by, 'For no man,' He had said, 'shall see Me and live-' The stout-
hearted Gideon had trembled at the sight of an angel; Manoah
had expected to die after a similar vision; and when Daniel saw
the very angel now before Zacharias, 'there remained no strength
in him.'
"—"The Life and Words of Christ," Geikie, vol.
I,
p.
94.
4.
"I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God." After
appearing to Zacharias, Gabriel was later sent to announce the
birth of Christ. (Luke : 26, 27.) Doubtless he is the one who
was sent to Daniel to communicate the information found in Dan.
JO : I I. (Compare Dan. 9: 21.),
5.
"The life of John was not spent in idleness, in ascetic gloom,
or in selfish isolation. From time to time he went forth to mingle
with men; and he was ever an interested observer of what was
passing in the world. . . . The burden of his mission was upon
him. In solitude, by meditation and prayer, he sought to gird up
his soul for the life-work before
him."—"The Desire of Ages,"
p.
102.
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